Aarushi case: CBI gives its account of how the murders took place

For the first time in the course of the Aarushi-Hemraj murder trial, the CBI has offered a blow-by-blow account of how it thinks the murders took place. A.G. L. Kaul, the officer who handled in the investigation in Delhi told the court trying Dr Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, the sequence of events that led to the murders of the teenager and the family’s servant.

Kaul’s story went like this: Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were in their room, when, at around midnight Rajesh heard sounds. He emerged, went first to check on Hemraj. The servant wasn’t in his room, and the dentist picked up a golf club that was lying there. He then went to Aarushi’s room, where he, according to Kaul found the two in a compromising position.

Enraged, the father rained blows on Hemraj, injuring him near-fatally. A killer blow accidentally landed on Aarushi. Nupur then joined her husband and they planned the next steps. They decided to conceal Hemraj’s body on the terrace and dragged it there together. There, they slit his throat. The couple then came down and slit their daughter’s throat as well.

They cleaned her genitals and “dressed up” the scene. When they were done, they moved left of the house to dispose off their bloodied clothes, and the surgical instrument they used to cut their victim’s throats. They then went about cleaning the house at each stage, they tried to make the crime look like the work of intruders.

Kaul’s narration to the court puts an end to speculation about how the CBI believes the murders were committed. The sequence of events he related are now the official position.

But as his cross-examination continues, Kaul will have to explain practically every detail of his theory. The most glaring piece ofevidence missing is Hemraj’s blood. If he was battered in Aarushi’s room as the CBI claims, then why was there no trace of his blood found in the room in the course of all the forensic tests done on samples from it?

The Talwars have been accused of “washing” off the blood. But it stands to reason that you cannot wash off the blood of only one person from a crime scene where two people were murdered and pools of blood remained.

The bloodied clothes that Kaul refers to were never recovered. Neither were the Talwars seen leaving the flat. The mysterious “sharp surgical instrument” wasn’t found either. And tests on the other “murder weapon”, the golf club showed nothing connecting it to the crime.

Other tests did show something up, though. And Kaul faced a barrage of questions on it. Hemraj’s blood, according to forensic reports from CDFD Hyderabad, was found in Krishna’s room — in a nearby flat. Krishna was one of the dentist’s assistants and lived in the same complex, he was also an early suspect.

The fact that such a report existed only came to light after the Talwars brought it to the notice of the courts, as they sought reinvestigation. The CBI then acted swiftly, dispatching Kaul to Hyderabad and extracting a clarification from the lab saying it was a typographical error.

Kaul told the court that he was aware of the error during the investigation, but that he did nothing about it. He could not,however, remember exactly how the “error” was detected under his watch or who pointed it out.

Why didn’t he correct it at the time? Kaul said that the scientist concerned would come and explain in court anyway, he didn’t feel it necessary to ask for a correction. The trouble with that position is: the case, according to Kaul’s own closure report, wasn’t supposed to go to trial at all.

Kaul’s explanations will take up most of the court’s time in the near future.Latest Articles:

Avirook Sen has been a journalist and writer for over 20 years. A former resident editor of Hindustan Times (Mumbai) and editor of Mid-Day, he has written with passion and insight on subjects as varied as sport and terrorism for top publications across the world. His first book, Looking for America, was published in 2010 to enthusiastic reviews. You can write to him at avirook@gmail.com